Sandstorms and Spells
by SoundGeare
Summary: Link waits seven years to fulfill a promise he made only the day before. But what must he accomplish in order to save a friend. What foe must he destroy in order to save someone he barely knows? -oneshot-


The boy walked through those smooth corridors

That sand had long been packed down, ground into the place where it would probably be forever

A boy, at least that was how he felt

Or how he felt that he should feel

No more than twenty four hours ago

He had been that boy again

That ten year old boy

He still felt different, like he always had

Maybe he always would feel that way

For years he had been a Hylian living among the Kokiri

Then he had been a Kokiri among the Hylians

Then he had been a child masquerading as an adult

But being an adult within the mind of a child, that was something that he could never get used to

Something that nobody should be able to get used to

That nobody should need to get used to

But he wasn't here to think about how different he had always been

He wasn't here to think about himself at all

He was here to honor a promise

He had made the promise many years ago, to someone that he barely knew

But he saw in her eyes that she trusted him to carry through with the promise

Those years, they had passed for him in seconds

Link had no idea what had happened to her during those years

He ran up a spiraling staircase two steps at a time, stopping only to dispatch a skulltula that had hidden itself above him

After consulting his map, he stuffed it back into his backpack and ran off down the correct hallway

Link hoped that he wasn't too late

* * *

He dropped to the floor, falling from the longshot's grip on the wall

A door was ahead of him

A large door, heavily decorated and armored

Almost positive that she was there, Link went to the door

He fitted the key in the lock, loosing the chains from the door

They dropped to the floor with a loud clang

The sound echoed through the large cavern

He pushed the door open

He stepped through

He was trapped

As if by some magic, the door faded away from where it had been

It disappeared, leaving only a blank expanse of wall

"It seems there is someone here…"

That voice moved through the air in a way that Link could only describe as a shiver

Then it was accompanied by a second voice

"It seems that you are correct…"

Link brandished his weapons, looking around the room for the sources of the ominous voices

"What a pesky intruder…"

He took a step forward

"And he thinks he has a chance…"

The voices were coming from just a few feet ahead

Link could almost feel it

"Maybe we should have some fun with him first…"

There was something there

He knew it, but he could see nothing except open air

"Maybe we should feed him to the pet…"

A bead of sweat trickled down the back of Link's neck

"Yes, that is an excellent idea…"

Even as the words faded from Link's ears, he watched as a metallic form materialized before his eyes

Shimmering, shining even in the dim lamplight, a monstrous entity stood before him

In its right hand it brandished a large axe that easily weighed more than Link

The blade in Link's own hand seemed small in comparison

Suddenly the axe was flying through the air, arcing toward Link

He barely dodged the swing, jumping backwards and losing his balance

It seemed to sense his weakness and took the chance to pounce again

Dropping to the floor and rolling, Link evaded a vertical swing

Then Link was on the offensive

He dove toward the silvery figure, jabbing his sword between the plated leg armor

His sword slid beneath the armor, but seemed to slip off of something unseen

The plate was ripped from the main body and fell clattering to the floor

Through the empty spot, Link saw nothing but infinite blackness

He completed his dive with a roll, and ended up behind the menacing being

Taking his chance, Link struck at the plated armor again

His sword slipped off of the silvery plate with a shriek

Before Link could adjust himself, the silvery menace had spun around and landed a left handed punch on his shoulder

Time slowed for a moment as the fist made contact with his chest

The air whooshed out of his lungs, leaving him gasping for breath

The force propelled him through the air and into a thick sandstone column

The column cracked and crumbled beneath Link and left him sprawling on the floor

He moaned as he listened to the individually booming footsteps of the ironclad giant

He rolled onto his stomach slowly and pulled himself to his feet

He found himself staring into the eyeholes of the giant

Deep within the darkness of the helmet, Link saw a pair of golden eyes

They reminded him of Nabooru's

They had seemed so odd to him the first time he had seen them

Now he wished he could see them again, because that would mean she was safe

And then he could keep his promise

He could kill Ganondorf

Link jumped away from the giant just as the large axe fell toward where he had been

The blade dug deep into the ground and stuck fast to the stone

Link took his chance and attacked the armor, wrenching various plates off with his sword

As he ripped off a strip of the giant's forearm brace, Link realized exactly what he was fighting

Beneath the armor there was the dark skin of a Gerudo

Link dodged another strike from the newly freed axe, then he pulled out the longshot

Taking quick and careful aim, Link used the longshot to ratchet the helmet off of the giant

Revealing the face beneath

Golden eyes stared out from a dark face

Red hair

Nabooru herself was imprisoned within the suit of armor

Even as he watched, the armor began to fall away

She fell to the floor amidst a pile of now scuffed armor

"What-"She murmured. "What happened?"

Then she looked up at Link and said, "Is that, is that you? Link?"

Link nodded, but before he could do anything else, cold and hollow laughter filled the room

"She seems to be free…"

"Yes she does…"

"What should we do with her now…"

"I say we imprison them both…"

"Or maybe, we take them both to Ganondorf…"

Suddenly two beams of light shot from two indistinct places

Acting on instinct, Link raised his shield

He could feel the energy buzzing on the surface of his shield

After a moment, the barrage concluded

He stood and looked around, but Nabooru was nowhere to be seen

"It seems we've left one behind…"

"We will see about that…"

Link readied himself to fight.

Nabooru had been recaptured

Link needed to re-free her


End file.
